Journey to imortality
by Tylen
Summary: summary is inside
1. Chapter 1

The story so far.

Rion was training with her brothers in the woods before a festival. The valley in which she lives is protected by a massive impenetrable gate. During the party a traitor has slipped away and opened the gate. Mayhem has ensued, and everyone is killed. Rion converses with the gods and is sent back in a more powerful form to avenge her people and attempt to keep the mistakes of the past from taking place once again.


	2. the story begins

Rion crouched, panting in the gloomy half light. Behind her she could hear the sounds of her pursuers growing closer. She knew the terrain, but that didn't afford her any advantage, for her adversaries knew it as well. Thinking fast she picked up a stone and waited until the sounds of pursuit were almost right behind her and then tossed it to the left where there was a small valley. The sounds of chase stopped and she caught the flash of a tail as it disappeared into the dense undergrowth. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief a clawed hand grabbed her throat another grabbed her mouth. She sagged, resigned to the fact that once again, her brothers had beaten her.

Janard, her elder brother released his grip on her and smacked her lightly on the back of her head. "Got her Dorvn" he called telling his twin that the chase was over and their plan had worked. Dorvn's head popped up over the side of the valley and grinned at her. "You have to do better than that to get beat from us sis". Rion paused regaining her breath and kicked Dorvn lightly in the chest sending him over backwards and grabbed Janard underneath his arms and interlocking her hands in front of his neck, flipped him onto his back and pushed a knee into his chest. At about the same time Dorvn reappeared at the ridge and found her claws level with his gut. A full minute passed before any of them realized what had happened and than Rion got up and started running back the way she had some towards the road, towards the village, towards her home.

Later that week the festival of the guardians was to take place. The festival was in honor of the warriors of old, they who flew and fought in the ages of old, defending what was then a budding society nestled in the foothills of the Azleran mountains, at the end of Okaln valley. Before they left, after ensuring that peace had been attained and would last for many generations, the constructed a great wall of living wood with a gate in the middle of it in the mouth of the valley, effectively giving the Okaln's complete control over who entered their valley. Only an Okaln was able to open or close the gate, and in this way the guardians ensured the safety of their charges.

As the festival started, no one noticed as one of the revelers slipped away from the rest of the revelers and made his way towards the gate. Outside the gate a small but well trained force had gathered in preparation to enter the lush oasis of life as soon as the traitor opened the gate for them. The traitor hoped to come out of the deal with his life but as soon as the gate was open he was felled by an arrow through the heart. His dying scream, however was carried by the winds to the revelers at the festival. At the sound of the fell moan, all revelry stopped instantly, all eyes going towards the main road and the gate. The festival had traditionally been held at the location from which the guardians departed forever from Okaln, which was separated from the gate by about 50 yards of forest.

As the scream died away a trance was broken and everyone started to scatter in different directions, without regard to personal belongings or valuables. Almost before they had made it half way to the edge of the clearing they were in, hoofbeats were heard along the main road and arrows started whistling through the air, some finding targets in living hosts, others embedding themselves harmlessly in trees or the ground. Those that hit however did so with deadly accuracy. Not one of the forms that fell to the ground rose. Rion could not comprehend what was happening. On the night of the most sacred festival of her people, invaders had breached the living gates. Not until much later did she realize that they must have been let in by someone. Suddenly she hit in the back, hard and fell to the ground. When she tried to get up she realized that she was pinned down by Dorvn who to her horror had an arrow in the back of his neck. He was still breathing, but fading fast. Janard was suddenly at her side, and Dorvns eyes locked with his and he felt the pain of his twin dying. Janard picked his brother up and carried him to the shelter of a table.

After hiding his brother's body he rushed back to his sister's side his mind only thinking of protecting her. Rion, still in a daze after seeing Dorvn, the same Dorvn who had bested her so many times during her training, die that she hardly noticed Janard throwing her over his shoulder and staggering into the woods behind the others, disappearing into the night. Dorvn ran faster than he thought would have been possible dodging and ducking tree branches and jumping over roots. Just as the sounds of pursuit had started to dwindle behind him he felt an arrow pass by his head and heard it hit a tree in front of him. As he passed the tree with the arrow in it, he felt an odd sense of calm wash over him. In the next second he hit the ground, never having felt the arrow that pierced his heart through his back. Rion was jolted out of her daze when she was thrown from her brother's back in the fall. Scrambling to her feet she ran over to his prone form and rolled him over. As soon as she saw the arrow protruding from his chest she knew he was dead. Her vision clouded with tears as she roared her loss to the stars above, the stars which continued to twinkle and watch serenely as events continued to unfold below them.

She was yanked from her mourning by the sound of arrows buzzing madly in the predawn darkness, forcing her to start running. Silently she began to run, the years of practice with her brothers playing through her mind. She could only hope that the attackers had not know that her brother had been carrying her. As she ran she began to weave in and out of the trees and vegetation, hoping to elude her pursuers long enough to set up an ambush. As soon as she had the chance she dove behind a tree than shot up its trunk. As she reached the leaves she jumped, grabbed a branch and held on, waiting for an attacker to run below her. First one than another attacker ran below her, followed by a small group. As soon as the group was below her, she dropped down and laid into them with her claws and feet. She disemboweled four of them before they knew what was happening and cut the throats of another three. As they began to turn and draw their weapons she grabbed the final two that had been in the group and smashed their heads together. Dropping them she turned to the two that had run ahead only to feel the sting of arrows punching through her and embedding themselves in the tree behind her. Staggering, she looked down to see several red flowers beginning to bloom on her festival costume. As she looked up, she was jerked back as more arrows slammed into her, pinning her to the tree. The last thing that she saw was an arrow headed for her forehead, time slowing down as the razor sharp tip of the barb came into focus. Then everything went white.

Rion blinked in surprise as she suddenly realized that she was no longer dying, or unable to move. Taking stock of her surroundings she saw that she was surrounded by a soft white mist, which seemed to generate its own light. Looking down she got quite a shock as she realized that she was not so much standing but hovering. What happened next surprised her even more. The mists parted revealing her village, and her brothers standing at the end of the main road, between the first two houses. As she approached them they stepped forward and barred her way into the village. Looking past them she could see everyone whom she knew had been killed standing and looking at her. Dorvn looked at her with sadness in his eyes as he said "It is not yet your time sister. The Guardians have charged us with the task of baring your way to paradise". Rion looked at him with confusion and tears in her eyes as Janard continued where his brother had left off. "When you were killed, it was before your time, you must go back" he said. "Your work is not yet finished". Rion could only blink uncomprehendingly, not understanding what was going on. Sensing something behind her, Rion turned around and shrank back as a shadow fell over her. One of the guardians was standing behind her, wings flared looking at her with something akin to fondness. It reached down and touched a claw to her hand and seemed to vanish. At the same time that the guardian vanished, Rion was thrown into a world of pain as power flowed through her warping her limbs and body, changing her. The last thing that she saw before passing out was her hand twisting in on itself and almost melting.

Wind, hot and harsh was the first sensation that her skin felt as she passed from the world of the gods.


End file.
